Jordan Sauer’s new Slow Flow album ‘Into The Fall’ released under his moniker ‘Segue’ is another example of the trendsetting curatorial choices of label owner Ryo Nakata who consistently releases the most compelling new voices in the ambient genre. ‘Into the Fall’ has been on my playlist for a number of months and served almost as a sound track for a whole mini-period of my life in New Orleans. Sauer’s organic synthesis of multiple styles and aesthetics forms the basis, in my opinion, of powerful album that suggests a more diverse approach to the genre.

Until yesterday when I set my intentions on reviewing this album that I have lived with for so many months, I had failed to listen to it with a good pair of headphones. Doing so revealed a highly sophisticated layer of detail that I never appreciated in all the months that it was used as a meditation tool or as a way to tune my environment. In particular I realized, through the use of headphones, Jordan’s masterful use of panning. There is a density of layer in these tracks that I find uncommon in much of the music that I have been drawn to in the past few years.

Tho somehow similar in aesthetic to the music of Celer, the similarity is perhaps in the pacing of meta-events, but unlike Celer who’s music acts on the mind through the reduction of material, ‘Into the Fall’ brings the listener into the sonic otherworlds through complex layering of minimal elements. If I had to draw comparisons I would say that Sauer’s new album combines the best of old school Steve Roach with the vibe and pacing of Celer while welcoming the sonic vocabulary of a whole range of glitch and noise composers. The aggregate of these comparisons is something totally original, a unique voice that will likely surprise us with his ability to continue to generate some of the most fresh sounds on the net.

Tho I suggest listening to the album once or twice with headphones, I also really recommend that you let this album guide your meditations or dreams. There is a shamanic quality to this work that is wonderfully nostalgic of the early pioneers of the genre. Burn a bit of sage and let the room clear, light a candle and let the music take you to your inner worlds to the inner places that Jordan Sauer aka Segue has laid out for all of us. ‘Into the Fall’ is a gateway, at least for me, into a sacred place, my inner alter, my higher self.

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